Water, sewer lease divides Allentown council candidates

Two camps have emerged in the race for Allentown City Council: those for and those against the proposed lease of the city's water and sewer system.

Candidates took a stand on both sides of that line Thursday night during a debate hosted by the local NAACP.

Seven of the nine candidates running for four-year terms participated in the discussion, and opinions on the lease were sharply divided between challengers and incumbents, many of whom more hesitant to speak out only days before the expected vote on the lease.

"Do I tap dance? Do I say 'Well, maybe let's wait for the vote?'" said incumbent Ray O'Connell, when asked to share his opinion on the lease. "This has been the most gut-wrenching decision I've ever had to make."

But ultimately, O'Connell said he would support Mayor Ed Pawlowski's plan to lease the city's water and sewer systems to the Lehigh County Authority for the next 50 years – a deal that would raise $220 million for the city's severely underfunded pension plans. Officials estimate that the pensions are underfunded by at least $160 million.

With the local and nonprofit LCA poised to take on the lease, rather than a private company, the deal has become the best scenario in a bad situation, O'Connell said.

His fellow incumbent members of council, all of whom will likely be voting on the lease before the primary on May 21, fell in line with that position. Julio Guridy, council's president and the longest-serving member of the board, said he was leaning toward the lease because it's the best option the city has.

"I'm not going to lie to you," he said. "I do support the water lease program."

Incumbent Jeff Glazier, an appointed member of council who was sworn in just six months ago, said he would also support the lease. Raising taxes as an alternative would be much worse, he said.

"Who is in favor of having your property taxes raised 40 percent?" Glazier asked the crowd of more than 60 people. Only three hands shot into the air.

"To raise taxes 40 percent to pay for a pension liability, and then to go back to that same well we've already drawn so heavily on to raise taxes again — to fix our swimming pools or fund our police or pay for our streets — that would be a pretty darn hard thing to do," Glazier said.

Since candidates declared their interest in running for council, the lease has been a critical issue. Many residents have spoken out at council meetings, threatening to oust incumbents if they support the deal. Most of the challengers have responded by taking a strong stand against the plan, touting alternatives, particularly the possibility of Allentown creating its own authority to buy the water and sewer systems.

Challenger Alfonso Todd said Thursday that the alternatives have not been thoroughly explored.

"The biggest issue really has never been the water situation," Todd said. "It was how it was presented to us in the first place. We never really had a choice."

Carmen Bell, also a challenger, said she remained unsure about the lease. But if a vote were taken today, Bell said she would have to vote "no."

"There has been no clarity on what the other possibilities are," she said. "There hasn't been a real side-by-side comparison."

Kim Velez, another challenger, said residents should not relax their opposition to the lease just because it would likely be in the hands of LCA rather than a private operator. The deal still removes control of the systems from Allentown residents, she said.

"I would rather pay higher taxes for the first three, 10 years, instead of putting this burden on generations to come and not having access to our water if we needed to," Velez said.

Candidate David Melman said residents shouldn't be "fearmongered" into believing that there is no alternative to the lease.

"Current members of City Council voted to keep it out of your hands," Melman told the crowd, referencing a decision council made against forming a joint committee of government officials and residents to further investigate the lease. "People of this city need to have a say. They're smart enough to do their research and their homework to find the right solutions."

Incumbent candidate Cynthia Mota remains hospitalized in Venezuela and was not present for the debate. Challenger Daryl Hendricks also did not participate.